Alternative media and democracy : political participation and expression through social media in Turkey

Author

Advisor

Date

Publisher

Language

Type

Item Usage Stats

Metadata

Abstract

We live in a late-modern age characterized by globalization, self-reflexivity and high
level of detraditionalization accompanied by the latest developments in the field of
communication and information technologies. Besides its economic, social and
cultural consequences, such an environment is mostly invested with great potential
for realizing participatory democracy. Due to major transformations appeared in both
class structure and cultural realm, the politics of late-modern age pursues a form of
politics which is beyond left and right and, by a remarkable reformation, it can be
called what Anthony Giddens calls a “third way politics”. Therefore, in such an
environment, old political practices of participation and expression remain
incompatible with social and cultural structure of the late-modern age. Herein, social
media as a socialized and horizontal mode of communication, functions as a public
space for struggles over power and counter-power especially for the groups who
were interpellated as “others” since the foundation of the Turkish Republic in
different periods of history. Benefiting from the discussions on the concepts of public
sphere, citizenship, democracy and social media, this thesis studies the nature of
political participation and expression through social media in Turkey and the
potential of social media for being an instance of alternative media deepening
democracy.